Do I ship it?

Games › RTS › RTS + Automation

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Automation RTS?

RTS + Automation

Of 55 developers who shipped an Automation RTS in the last 2 years: 3 in 10 made under est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 4 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 20 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 94 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.4k, ×1.6 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $720; 1 in 20 cleared $3.3M, ×2244 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 94 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 50% on the market, 94 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
RTS + Automation
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 55
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $28k → $5.5k → $163k → $1.5k → $36k → $89k → $2.4k (still earning) → $449 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for RTS + Automation: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 55
Bottom 30% $719 (exactly $719)
Median $2.4k (exactly $2,398)
Top 25% $88k (exactly $88,141)
Top 5% $3.4M (exactly $3,360,869)
Developers, 2 yr 55
Released games 102
Announced 94
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $9.99

momentum: how a niche's revenue percentiles and developer count moved between two equal, adjacent periods, divided by the market's own move. See method., 12 months: revenue down 50% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.

RTS
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Automation
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
RTS, Automation; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Management, Strategy, Base Building
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 27,465 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $720, median $2.4k, 1 in 4 over $88k, 1 in 20 over $3.3M.

3 in 10 developers made under $720. 7 in 10 of the 29 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 94 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

RTS with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + RomeFair12 devs · median $64k · 13 announced
  2. + Outbreak SimFair16 devs · median $2.6k · 14 announced
  3. + HorrorFair20 devs · median $2.4k · 27 announced
  4. + NavalFair15 devs · median $2.4k · 21 announced
  5. + TabletopFair25 devs · median $1.9k · 33 announced
  6. + SportsLong shot19 devs · median $861 · 9 announced
  7. + PuzzleLong shot48 devs · median $479 · 40 announced
  8. + World War IIPoor odds23 devs · median $105k · 38 announced
  9. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds28 devs · median $64k · 41 announced
  10. + Open WorldPoor odds45 devs · median $35k · 100 announced
  11. + Colony SimPoor odds87 devs · median $31k · 159 announced
  12. + HistoricalPoor odds108 devs · median $30k · 180 announced

All 149 pairs on the RTS page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Dyson Sphere Program 2021 · EA · $50M Outpost: Infinity Siege 2024 · $8.7M Mindustry 2019 · $7.4M The Wandering Village 2025 · $7.0M The King is Watching 2025 · $4.0M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Dyson Sphere Program · EA older $19.99 83,523 97% 2.5M $50M (exactly $50,088,743) Youthcat Studio
Outpost: Infinity Siege older $24.99 11,636 65% 349k $8.7M (exactly $8,723,509) Team Ranger
Mindustry older $9.99 24,608 95% 738k $7.4M (exactly $7,375,018) AnukenDev
The Wandering Village $29.99 7,734 91% 232k $7.0M (exactly $6,958,280) Stray Fawn Studio
The King is Watching $14.99 9,006 88% 270k $4.0M (exactly $4,049,998) Hypnohead
The Crust $31.99 3,502 76% 105k $3.4M (exactly $3,360,869) VEOM Studio
Rise of Industry older $29.99 3,122 74% 94k $2.8M (exactly $2,808,863) Dapper Penguin Studios
Desynced $29.99 1,879 79% 56k $1.7M (exactly $1,690,536) Stage Games Inc.
Oddsparks: An Automation Adventure $29.99 1,867 82% 56k $1.7M (exactly $1,679,740) Massive Miniteam
Taur older $24.99 2,011 79% 60k $1.5M (exactly $1,507,647) Echo Entertainment
Tower Factory · EA $14.99 1,220 89% 37k $549k (exactly $548,634) Gius Caminiti
Outworld Station $18.99 807 84% 24k $460k (exactly $459,748) Trickjump Games Ltd
Industry Giant 4.0 $24.99 506 33% 15k $379k (exactly $379,348) Don VS Dodo
Territory: Farming and Warfare $14.99 738 84% 22k $332k (exactly $331,879) Wit Studio
Industrial Annihilation · EA $29.99 206 27% 6.2k $185k (exactly $185,338) Galactic Annihilation

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.